Tag Archives: RCSLT

Putting Yourself First

We present a guest post by Cathy Sparkes and Sam Simpson, SLTs who work together as intandem. Here are Cathy and Sam’s reflections on supervision. 

Ask yourself this question: Am I looking after myself enough in these challenging times? If your answer is ‘no’ or ‘not sure’ then read on!

The service you work in is probably being exposed to job cuts, a reduction in CPD funding and the demand to maintain clinical standards with ever-shrinking resources. In the midst of this you still need to put yourself first by making sure you’re receiving the quantity and quality of supervision you need. Over the past decade we have been supporting SLTs to access and provide good quality supervision. However, we often find that people don’t know what supervision is, have never experienced it or think they haven’t got time for it.

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Redesigning Service Delivery for a Changing World: Therapy Ideas Live Debate

We’ve now had four sold-out Therapy Ideas Live lightning talk events since July 2011. It’s been great getting to meet and share ideas with such a range of therapists. We’re building a bank of 5 minute videos covering a huge range of topics. Need a quick dose of inspiration? Check them out!

We’re changing the format for the next event, so therapists can discuss their ideas and share their experiences. I’m excited to announce the next Therapy Ideas Live event will be a debate – Redesigning Service Delivery for a Changing World: Taking Responsibility for the Future of Speech & Language Therapy.

The debate will feature Kate Malcomess, Sally Shaw, and Kim Lewis, and is taking place as part of the RCSLT’s Giving Voice Campaign. It’s on 26 June 2012, at The Mermaid Conference Centre, London, 6.00 – 9.30 pm.

Changing Landscape

New commissioning regimes, reduced budgets, and growing caseloads: like it or not, Speech and Language Therapy is changing, and there’s no going back. Let’s tackle this challenge together, by learning from each other, listening to contrasting expert perspectives, and taking an active role in redesigning service delivery for the future of our profession.

We’ll hear from three featured speakers, debate what we’ve heard, and discuss experiences and challenges in small groups. Come along, and meet other therapists who are trying to make positive changes.

Get Your Ticket Now

Tickets are £10 and limited so get yours now. Check out all the details and buy your ticket!

Therapy Ideas Live: “Enlighten us, but make it quick!”

Although there’s plenty of formal education for Speech and Language Therapists (SLTs), we need more opportunities to share ideas, learn from each other, and develop our skills in an informal environment. I had a blast at Ignite London last year, and it inspired me to organise a similar event for SLTs. Meet Therapy Ideas Live.

With some friends and colleagues I’m trying something new: an evening of informal and informative lightning-style talks presented by ten SLTs from a range of backgrounds. Broaden your perspective, learn from others, share your own experiences, and socialise over a glass of wine—it’s a more inspiring version of CPD!

The first Therapy Ideas Live is happening on the evening of 5th July 2011, hosted at the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists in London. Ten amazing speakers–including Gina Davies, Marie Gascoigne, and Stephen Parsons–will each present for 5 minutes, with slides that advance automatically. Find out more on the event page.

Amazingly, all 50 free tickets for this event sold out within 24 hours, and we closed the waiting list when 50 more people had signed up. Thanks for your support! We plan to film the presentations and share them on this website.

We’re also planning another event at City University in the autumn. Register your interest and be the first to hear when tickets are released. And if you fancy sharing your experience, perspective, case study, or challenge, send us your talk idea using this form. You don’t need experience of public speaking: anyone can give a lightning talk (read this post for some handy tips), and we’ll give you plenty of help.

You can follow the event live on twitter, using the hashtag #therapyideas.

See you there!